Hail!
HAIL! is a global touring machine composed of a tight-knit brotherhood of music’s most highly respected and talented artists. In continuing the HAIL! tradition of unpredictable fan satisfaction, they have announced a very diversified lineup for their one-off concert appearance at the G-TARanaki Festival in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Beyond Fear, Yngwie Malmsteen) announces: “We are thrilled to be playing with Slash on Saturday, August 14, 2010, as part of a wonderful event that showcases the different equipment and music companies as well as providing a high-profile platform for New Zealand’s finest talent. While we realise this is somewhat of a departure from HAIL!’s heavier side, the setting of G-Taranaki created an opportunity to extend our musical roots and welcome some incredible new players to our family.”
Joining Owens onstage will be guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine (of Planet X), legendary bassist Tony Franklin (The Firm/Blue Murder/Whitesnake) and Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis.
“I’m really looking forward to playing with these guys!” exclaimed Ripper, “Scott and I have known each other for years and obviously we played together in Priest so I can’t wait to play with him again. Tony Franklin played a track on my solo album and he and Tony MacAlpine have also played together throughout the years so we all have this intertwined history and that is what HAIL! is all about. We have very successfully united the best players available in the entire world and we will continue to present a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the fans wherever we go. We want to keep it fun, exciting and unpredictable but still in a consistent way that is characteristically HAIL! and in doing that we have a very special treat planned up for the wonderful people of New Zealand.”
Having stormed the worldwide music scene, HAIL! continues to earn their reputation as a fan-inspired, fun-filled, crushing live experience with an ever evolving lineup of the world’s best musicians. With David Ellefson returning to Megadeth, HAIL! had lined up Slipknot’s Paul Gray to join Ripper Owens, Paul Bostaph (Testament/Slayer/Exodus) and Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) for their upcoming Europe/Asian Tour in May and June. Following Gray’s untimely death two days before the tour was due to begin, HAIL! drafted in James Lomenzo (White Lion, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Megadeth).
In addition to playing both Rock In Rio Festivals (in Lisbon with Motorhead and Megadeth and in Madrid with Motorhead and Metallica) and the Sauna Open Air Festival in Finland, HAIL! will also be playing five shows in Russia, two more in Finland and single shows in Ukraine and Estonia.
Before Gray’s death, Kisser announced: “The first show of the tour, the Rock In Rio Festival in Lisbon, will also have Motorhead and Megadeth on the bill so we’ll get the chance to kick off this run with David literally being able to hand off the transition to Paul in person. I think that’s a very cool way to show everybody just how tight of a family we really are. Sure, it’s a little bit sad not to have the same guys next to you every show, but it’s also exciting to keep the level of playing at its best and the opportunity that each person’s unique talent brings to the mix makes us all better players and people. I’m not going to lie, I’d love to do G-TARanaki…but I just can’t do it since I am already booked with Sepultura. Nevertheless, this lineup is ridiculous – Tony MacAlpine, Tony Franklin, Scott Travis and Ripper?! They’re monsters! That’s going to be unbelievable!”
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